Pronounciation: He-lee-AN-thus AN-nus

Hardiness zones
Sunset Annual All
USDA Annual All

Landscape Use: Wonderful summer accent for any flower border or garden, attracts birds by the score with fruiting.

Form & Character: Upright and rigid, festive, cheerful, signature plant of summer.

Growth Habit: Herbaceous annual, upright and vigorous from 2 to 15 feet depending on cultivar, selection.

Foliage/Texture: Sometimes basally opposite, mostly alternate, ovate with pronounced venation, pubescent to scabrous, coarsely serrate, size varies greatly; generally medium to coarse.

Flowers & Fruits: Large terminal perfect ray flowers that are famously phototrophic, either singly or in terminal clusters, yellow petals and dark brown center (other red flower petals exist too); with or without fruit. Those with fruit, an edible achene.

Seasonal Color: Summer flowers

Temperature: Heat loving; sunflowers are for summer!

Light: Full sun

Soil: Tolerant

Watering: Tolerant, though vigor is improved by regular water in desert climates.

Pruning: None

Propagation: Seed, very easy to germinate in warm garden soil

Disease and pests: None

Additional comments: About 150 species worldwide, much variation in size and form. Sunflower is a very easy to grow garden plant and is the consummate plant for beginner gardeners when a successful outcome is needed to thawrt discouragement or the advent of the 'brown thumb' syndrome.

Sunflowers are a major agronomic crop in the southeastern European nation of Bulgaria.